Edifier W800BT Wireless Headpones Review

While I live in Australia, I frequently travel to Asia to visit family and friends. Edifier might not have the largest presence in the west, for instance barely half of Edifier’s speaker line-up is available in Australia, but in Asia they are considered to be one of the largest, most premium brands on offer. As someone who has experience with almost all of Edifier’s domestically available computer and bookshelf speakers, all of them having been quite pleasing in both tuning and quality, I was excited to see that Edifier had begun bringing over some of their headphones, earphones and earbuds to Australia and the US. And like their speakers, Edifier separate their headphones into multiple categories, each intended for a specific audience or use. While some head-fi users may be familiar with their more balanced, audiophile targeted headphones such as the H850, the same attention definitely hasn’t been given to Edifier’s more consumer orientated headphones such as the W800BT I have here.

Tonality –

Being part of Edifier’s consumer headphone line-up, the W800BT’s naturally carry quite a sculpted v-shaped sound. Despite this, the headphones possess a lot more balance than the vast majority of consumer headphones, even those that cost many times more. Bass is boosted though it is a relatively linear boost with a touch of sub-bass emphasis. I would consider the high-end to be more accentuated than the low-end, adding sparkle and aggressive detailing to its sound, though both bass and treble do sit in front of the midrange. Down low, they actually sound a lot like the Archeer AH07, also a very impressive wireless headphones at this price, though they are clearer throughout their midrange and possess a considerably more pronounced high-end. Between these two, buyers will find a very nice pair budget wireless headphones with opposing sound tuning, the AH07 being a darker, smoother listen and the W800BT bearing a brighter, clearer tonality.

Regarding bass quantity, I have seen a few impressions donning the W800BT a bass-head headphone, I personally didn’t find the bass to be quite that overwhelming though I also didn’t achieve a full seal due to the stiff earpads and lack of adjustment. I’m unsure whether Edifier have intentionally limited seal to add more air and balance out the low end (like the MRZ Tomahawk and 1More E1008) or whether I’m just an outlier in terms of fit. Regardless, I find the headphones to sound quite pleasing with this partial seal as they do become very bass dominant and thick when I forcibly apply pressure to the cups to achieve a complete seal. With that said, my sound impressions will be with this partial seal and may vary from person to person.

Soundstage, Imaging and Separation –

The W800BT’s actually have quite a decent soundstage on account of their aggressive, forward high-end and semi-open seal. Immediately, the amount of space stood out to me, especially depth, making the headphones sound quite open. Width was also quite impressive, just approaching that out of the head sensation. Listening to Radiohead’s OK Computer album and the synthesised effects were all appropriately atmospheric while underlying bass tones were expansive. Imaging was not so impressive with rather vague placement. Vocals did sound quite diffuse and instruments more unfocused, lacking the strong centre image and placement of dedicated wired headphones and even a lot of the better earphones around this price. Due to their clear, dynamic sound, the W800BT’s were more separated than the AH07’s and other darker headphones around this price, overall creating a very nice presentation for such a modest asking price.

Bass –

The low-end on the W800BT’s is full but surprisingly linear for a consumer headphone, yet alone one that costs $30. The overall quantity of the boost is also in good taste for a consumer orientated headphone, they are not nearly as muddy nor bloated as the vast majority of generic headphones but I would still consider the low end to be too excessive for more critical listeners. Sub-bass has nice extension though, like the AH07, the boosted lower bass response does mask some sub-bass extension and the W800BT’s still lack the visceral impact offered by more expensive sets. They have extra slam though to a lesser extent than the Archeer AH07 and they are considerably more balanced than Bluetooth headphones from Bauhn and Bluedio for instance. I assume this sub-bass emphasis was intended to offset the weak seal of the headphones. Mid-bass has a similar if slightly less emphasis remaining punchy without too much bloat. Upper bass has the least emphasis leaving the lower midrange sounding clearer and more neutral than most.

Bass on a whole is of the slower, looser variety, it’s a little sloppy and does get lost easily with faster tracks but those looking for kick and slam will find it here. With faster genres such as rock, the W800BT’s did have some troubles keeping up. For instance, the rapid bass drums in David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” didn’t sound as well delineated as on the Archeer AH07’s. Texture is surprisingly good considering the quality of the bass though the headphones don’t have the greatest bass resolution. The W800BT’s delivered a pleasing rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” though bass notes did lack a little definition overall. But for slower genres and films, the W800BT’s experienced less issue with weighty bass notes and moving impact with explosions and effects. So while the quality of the bass is not the greatest, being bested by the similarly priced Archeer AH07, the tuning and linearity of the W800BT’s low end are quite uncommon at this price point. Unfortunately, bass quantity is very seal dependent so those who feel that the W800BT’s have too much low-end should definitely consider loosening the clamp force a little by stretching out the headband overnight.

Midrange –

The W800BT’s falter a little more in their midrange. The W800BT’s have a reasonably recessed midrange on account of their v-shaped tuning though I would say that most buyers looking into these headphones would be attuned to such a sound. To compensate for this, Edifier have tuned the W800BT’s with a brighter tonal balance and boosted the clarity which grants a very clean, clear sound at the expense of sounding a little unnatural. As a result, female vocals are almost universally more prominent than male vocals and those sensitive to sibilance and high-frequencies may find the high-end on the W800BT’s a little too forward. The headphones are also lacking a little smoothness within their midrange making the whole sound aggressive and clear but also quite unrefined though many will no doubt love such tuning.

From bottom to top, male vocals sounded quite nice to my ear, not overly warm or thick as with some headphones. The lower-midrange is clear with perfectly distinguishable if ever so slightly grainy vocals. Instruments such as piano are crisp and acoustic instruments are well served by the headphone’s boosted clarity. Female vocals did sound a little thin and raspy, especially evident when listening to Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere”, though I did still find this response to be more pleasing than the darker AH07 which erred more on the side of congestion. The W800BT’s have no veil to speak of and still generally work well for vocal genres. I was also curious to try the W800BT’s with some Asian genres since these products generally have a domestic target audience. Unsurprisingly, they were well suited towards Asia’s more forward mastering style that well offset Edifier’s v-shaped tuning. Listening to Rain’s “The Best Present” or Akdong Musician’s “Play” album and vocals sounded appropriately intimate and clear with great definition to vocal layering and separation with backing instruments. On the contrary, more vocally recessed songs such as those from Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton would no doubt have benefit from slightly more midrange balance and presence. Ultimately, the W800BT is not an audiophile headphone though the sound manages to immediately impress through the culmination of a punchy bass response and aggressive high-end. The recessed midrange redeems some attention via increased clarity and upper midrange presence, preventing veil and bass/treble domination. Vocals are flattered with nice resolution at the cost of body and smoothness, creating a glossy if somewhat unnatural response.

Treble –

As mentioned in the tonality section, the high-end of the W800BT is the most accentuated frequency range. They have a very crisp, forward treble response that really brings details to the fore. I feel that Edifier is perhaps attempting to imitate the high-end response offered by their bookshelf speakers such as the R1700BT and R200DB, both of which are very detailed, aggressive speakers. However, while I can forgive Edifier’s speakers, especially since high-frequencies are the first to be attenuated with distance, the W800BT often comes across as more fatiguing due to their more intimate form factor. So despite having a preference for brighter headphones myself, I did find the W800BT to be fatiguing and occasionally over-forward during longer listening sessions.

However this is not at all uncommon with budget headphones and the W800BT’s do have nice resolution and detail retrieval. The Archeer AH07 was also a headphone with a nice high-end for a budget headphone, yet that headphone neither extends as high as the W800BT nor does it have quite the same resolution. But in return, the AH07 is never fatiguing, has more body and is also smoother. So it’s really a question of preference and I suspect just as many people will prefer the W800BT over the AH07. That being said, when compared to higher end headphones, the W800BT still glosses over a moderate amount of detail despite their boosted high-end and clarity. The high-end is also somewhat harsh and slightly thin; when listening to Radiohead’s “Creep”, the cymbals were quite splashy and even sharp during the chorus. Listening to some classical and strings, as with the upper-midrange, tended to sound grainy when compared to more refined headphones. Fans of acoustic will find prolific amounts of crispness with the W800BT’s as will fans of Pop music but those more into Rock might find the high-end too aggressive. Less critical listeners will enjoy the added detail and excitement offered by the W800BT, but I would argue that the headphones could do with a touch less high-end and a little more treble body. But considering the price of the headphones and in comparison to the Archeer AH07’s, the W800BT’s are still a nice performer, buyers simply need to be aware that it’s strong performances do come with some caveats.

About Author

Avid writer, passionate photographer and full-time student, Ryan's audio origins and enduring interests lie within all aspects of portable audio. An ongoing desire to bring quality audio to the regular reader underpins his reviewer ethos as he seeks to bring a new perspective on the cutting edge and budget dredge alike.

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